1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication, and in particular, to the facilitation of data exchanges between apparatuses without an underlying network connection.
2. Background
Wireless-enabled apparatuses are not limited to only exchanging voice data, such as in the instance of simple mobile cellular handsets, but may now incorporate various types of communication-related functionality. For example, apparatuses may utilized wireless interaction to exchange emails, messages, multimedia (e.g., audio and video) information, etc. Moreover, some applications may be implemented on wireless-enabled apparatuses that provide services not directly related to the communication of data, but may still rely on underlying wireless links to remote resources in order to provide the services. Positioning-related services (e.g., location mapping, routing, object tracking, position-relevant commercial information, etc.), consumer review databases, public transportation updates, games, etc. are examples of such applications.
Supporting such a large spectrum of desired functionality depends directly on the communication mediums that are supported in a wireless-enabled apparatus. For example, many of the above activities may be supported by long-range (e.g., cellular) wireless networks. While long-range wireless networks may provide adequate data throughput for supporting the information requirements of these applications, there may also be drawbacks to this type of access. Initially, long-range networking may place substantial resource burdens on some apparatuses when simply maintaining a connection to the network. This burden may increase when the apparatus is not in an area that provides strong signal coverage such as within some buildings, when underground (e.g., riding a subway system), etc. As a result, alternative solutions may be desired, such as supporting at least some of the demand in an apparatus via short-range wireless communication.
Short-range wireless interactions may be supported by wireless communication mediums like Bluetooth, WLAN, etc. These transports, while constrained to operation within smaller areas based on limited transmission range, may provide similar data delivery rates to long-range mediums with substantially lower resource requirements. However, short-range wireless mediums are not without some drawbacks. Formal network establishment may be required prior to any data being exchanged between devices. Given the limited transmission range of short-range wireless communication mediums, network links may need to be newly established, or reestablished, on a frequent basis as devices move (e.g., in the instance of mobile handsets or communicators). The resulting delays caused by the repeated requirement for these preliminary negotiations negatively impact the quality of service (QoS) that may be delivered, even in somewhat simple transactions.